Comparative plasticity of rare Pityopsis ruthii and its common congener P. graminifolia

The natural world is dynamic, and species must successfully respond to the environmental changes they experience. Pityopsis ruthii (Ruth’s golden aster) is an imperiled endemic perennial confined to boulder crevices along short stretches of the Hiwassee and Ocoee Rivers in Polk County, TN. To investigate plasticity of this species within the context of such change, we used a comparative approach to observe general differences in plasticity between P. ruthii and its widespread congener P. graminifolia by assessing the responses of individuals to experimentally imposed environmental change. Overall, P. ruthii exhibited lower plasticity than P. graminifolia, but these differences were resource-dependent with P. ruthii having significantly greater plasticity within the context of water availability while P. graminifolia exhibited greater plasticity within the context of light availability and temperature. The plasticity differences of P. ruthii and its positive associations with productivity provide context for understanding its constrained distribution and habitat specificity.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Author dc:creator

• Odell, Jared

Contributors dc:contributor

• Boyd, Jennifer N.
• Klug, Hope; Brzyski, Jessica
• College of Arts and Sciences

• Compositae
• Pheotypic plasticity
• Riparian ecology

Licence

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English, eng

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/686

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1846